Unlucky Strike (Paperback)

John Staddon

ISBN 10: 1908684372 / ISBN 13: 9781908684370

Published by Legend Press Ltd, Buckingham, 2014

About this Item

Paperback. Remember fifty years ago when everyone smoked?Since tobacco found its way into Europe in the sixteenth century, smoking has been a controversial issue. Fifty years ago, almost everyone smoked, and fifty years before that, smokers were in the doghouse; up until the early twentieth century, cigarettes were illegal in a number of U.S. states.Needless to say, smoking has always been a ready source of revenue. It has also been a source of health concerns, both real and imagined.This mixture of pleasure, money and risk that comes with the act of smoking means that it's rarely treated fairly by politicians, health professionals or the public. Nowadays, tough anti-smoking laws are to be obeyed in most corners of the globe.The misinformation about, and unreasoning hostility directed at, smoking and smokers is one of the major concerns of this book. After all, smoking has no public cost. Isn't it just the individual smokers who are at risk?Prompted by this burgeoning fascination, Staddon looks further into the facts. And the more he looks, the weaker the case against smoking as a public health issue becomes. Is ETS really dangerous to children? And if so, how can science prove it? And if smoking has no public cost and the medical case for third-party harm is weak, why are smokers still being victimised? In this provocative, thought-provoking book, Staddon is determined to uncover the truth about smoking. But the truth's not always pretty. Remember fifty years ago when everyone smoked?Since tobacco found its way into Europe in the sixteenth century, smoking has been a controversial issue. Fifty years ago, almost everyone smoked, and fifty years before that, smokers were in the doghouse; Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781908684370

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Unlucky Strike (Paperback)
• Publisher: Legend Press Ltd, Buckingham
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908684372
• ISBN 13: 9781908684370
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Hockney, David
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Smoking has been controversial ever since tobacco came to Europe in the sixteenth century. Fifty years ago, almost everyone smoked. Fifty years before that, smokers were in the doghouse – cigarettes were illegal in several U.S. states early in the twentieth century. Smoking has always been a ready source of revenue. It has also been a source of health problems, real and imagined. The mixture of pleasure, money and health risk means that smoking is rarely treated fairly by politicians, health professionals or the public. Now, tough anti-smoking laws are almost universal. The misinformation about, and unreasoning hostility directed at, smoking and smokers – and the sight of smokers, usually poor, puffing desperately outside in winter weather – is one reason for this book. Smoking has no public cost. It puts individual smokers at risk. It does not put the public purse at risk. Prompted by this surprising discovery, Staddon looked further into the facts. The more he looked, the weaker the case against smoking as a public health issue became. Is Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) really dangerous to children? How do they know? Does it really cause sudden infant death? How do they know that? Proving that smoking can cause an ever-growing list of ailments requires a scientific case that is often impossible to make, for logical, ethical and practical reasons. The case against ETS, in particular, is exceedingly weak. So, if smoking has no public cost and the medical case for third-party harm is weak, why are smokers victimized in so many ways? This book tries to find out – and the answer is not pretty.

About the Author

JOHN STADDON is James B. Duke Professor of Psychology, and Professor of Biology and Neurobiology, Emeritus, at Duke University. He is a Faculty Affiliate at the John Locke Foundation and Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of York (UK). He has published more than 200 research papers and six books.

DAVID HOCKNEY is a world-renowned British artist.